ANGEL GONZALEZ

12/28/85; NDFA '03;Dominican Republic
L/R; 5-11, 165

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
2003 DSL
.244
.313
.333
180
7
3
1
14
38
17
5
2004 DSL
.293
.336
.397
239
11
7
0
8
42
16
 
2005 R
.274
.307
.405
84
4
2
1
2
23
4
5
2006 A-
.274
.313
.328
259
12
1
0
14
43
15
10
2007 A+
.254
.276
.321
209
10
2
0
7
43
8
6
2007 A
.282
.329
.356
216
9
2
1
13
45
5
10
2008 AA
.278
.293
.381
97
5
1
1
1
23
2
2
2008 A+
.251
.281
.337
371
19
2
3
15
73
19
13
2009 AA
.192
.255
.256
172
6
1
1
14
37
2
1
2009 A+
.138
.194
.138
29
0
0
0
2
9
0
0

Gonzalez is a good example of the sort of player who'd have been severely overrated in the pre-Bill James era. He usually hits for a decent average, but rarely takes a pitch and has little power. Defensively he's flashy, with fairly good range and arm, but he's erratic and error-prone, with 45 in 2007 and 30, despite playing mostly 2B, in 2008. He runs well but is a low-percentage base stealer.

After struggling in his first DSL season, Gonzalez hit pretty well there the next year, except for the dismal plate discipline. He continued along the same lines in the GCL in 2005, although he got hurt and missed the second half of the season. He was the regular SS at Williamsport in 2006. He got off to a very bad start with the bat, but came on strongly in the last month, hitting .333 in August after hovering around .230 until then. His contribution on offense, though, was limited to hitting singles. He hit much better right-handed, with an .838 OPS vs. .575 left-handed.

Gonzalez started the 2007 season as the regular SS at Hickory and continued on much the same lines, hitting for a good average with poor plate discipline and not much power. He was promoted at mid-season when Dan Schwartzbauer, the regular SS at Lynchburg, was injured. The promotion was supposed to be temporary, but became permanent when Schwartzbauer unexpectedly retired. Gonzalez missed some time initially with a shoulder injury and then had to DH for a while. At the plate he continued his past tendencies, except his numbers got worse across the board. He returned to Lynchburg in 2008, only at 2B due to the presence of Brian Friday as the starting SS. He moved up to Altoona in mid-July when Luis Cruz was promoted to AAA and played mostly SS. His hitting at both levels continued along the same lines, although his numbers at Lynchburg were depressed by a horrid first few weeks. The BB and K numbers at Altoona are certainly eye-catching. His platoon splits the last two years haven't shown any particular pattern, so he may not be the sort of switch-hitter who ought to stop switch-hitting. He was, however, hitting left-handed against LHPs in spring training in 2009, and he's listed as a LH hitter at MiLB.com, so he must have given it up anyway.

With Friday at short and Jim Negrych at second, Gonzalez opened 2009 as the starting third baseman at Altoona. He figured just to be a placeholder for Pedro Alvarez, but he struggled so badly he got sent down to Lynchburg to serve as a utility player. He later returned to Altoona due to injuries, but he also spent a large part of the season on the DL. Defensively, he struggled at third, although he could be excused to some extent due to inexperience at the position. He should be a minor league free agent this fall and there's no reason for the Pirates to try to re-sign him.

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